


You Are My Angel

by EgoStorm



Series: Demons [3]
Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, M/M, cross posted on AFF, probably cliché, the soonhao that no one asked for
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-09
Updated: 2016-06-15
Packaged: 2018-06-07 07:51:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6795499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EgoStorm/pseuds/EgoStorm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There was everything to love about being an angel, but when Soonyoung loses his wings and becomes stuck in the human world, he meets someone who is more of an angel than he</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Feathers

Humans aren’t able to see them, but angels exist. Every so often, someone might catch a glimpse of one, but it would never be a long enough sight for anyone to be certain. But they do exist. They exist in the heavens, but many of them also have duties in the human world.

 

Kwon Soonyoung loved being an angel and preferred it over being human, even though he had never set foot in the human world. He was one of the many who only had duties in the heavens so there was no reason for him to have gone. His duty as an angel was to water the flowers that grew around the perimeter of the palace that housed the archangel and other higher ranking angels. Soonyoung was mid-ranked, but being around the palace so often, he befriended some of the higher ups, which included the Archangel Seokmin, leader of the angels.

 

Their interactions mostly consisted of greetings, and occasionally praises for each other’s work. Soonyoung would be watering the flowers early in the mornings, and Seokmin would leave the palace momentarily to observe that everything is in it’s place. Seokmin was a beautiful and graceful angel, admired by all, but the habitual greetings resulted in Soonyoung feeling something more than admiration for the great leader. With every passing day, watching the elegant angel pass by, Soonyoung noticed more and more details about him. The first detail anyone would notice would be his wings. They were the largest of all the angels, pure white in color so that it was almost translucent. Even though they were held high, the tips still dragged on the ground, but that didn’t tarnish the wings. Soonyoung’s wings were barely more than half the size of Seokmin’s, colored a light, pastel blue. Soonyoung wondered if his wing color would complement Seokmin’s.

 

The next detail he noticed was Seokmin’s soothing voice. As if there was a spell entwined in it, Seokmin’s voice had the ability to calm anyone down. He often settled disputes with both his reasonability, and his voice. The third detail he noticed, was Seokmin’s beautiful fingers. He noticed one day when the leader waved to him. As Soonyoung waved back, he saw his own fingers, not elegant in the slightest, and then Seokmin’s The great angel has long and delicate fingers. After that day, Soonyoung stuck to smiling and bowing as a greeting.

 

Before he knew it, Soonyoung was taking note of every new thing he noticed about Seokmin as he passed by. Before he knew it, he anticipated the angel coming out of the palace gates to greet him with his soothing voice. Before he knew it, he fell into an impossible love that could never be fulfilled.

 

Soonyoung loved being an angel, and one reason why was Lee Seokmin.

 

“Good morning, Soonyoung.”

 

Soonyoung snapped his head up from the flowers a bit too eagerly upon hearing his leader’s voice. 

 

“Good morning, Archangel Seokmin!”

 

The chuckle that Seokmin released made Soonyoung’s heart accelerate.

 

“I’m glad you’re lively, as usual.”

 

“It’s a beautiful day, your highness.”  _ Who wouldn’t be lively after being blessed with your presence? _ “The flowers are blooming nicely today.”

 

“Oh?”

 

The archangel walked closer to where the flowers were, and became closer to Soonyoung than ever before. 

 

“You’re right. They’re so beautiful and vibrant. It must be from all of the love you put into them.”

 

“N-no, you praise me too much.”

 

Seokmin reached over and patted the gardener lightly on the head. Soonyoung thought that his heart would burst right then and there.

 

“You’ve done well, Soonyoung.”

 

Soonyoung couldn’t reply immediately, and in the moment he paused, Seokmin plucked a feather from his wings. He offered the feather to the still frozen angel.

 

“Here. I think we’ve known each other long enough to exchange feathers.”

 

Exchanging feathers was something angels did with friends they were close with, or angels that they worked with, and was essentially a mode of communication. After placing a spell on the feathers they exchange, angels attach the new feather to their wings, typically in one corner. As wing colors vary, this results in a corner of an angel’s wings to be very colorful, and is a visual of how many angels they connect with. If Soonyoung accepts the feather, it would mean he had a connection to the archangel.

 

Soonyoung hesitated, but when the archangel flashed a smile, he graciously accepted the feather with both hands, and immediately offered his own. Seokmin attached Soonyoung’s feather to his wing, where there was a colorful array of feathers of all sizes. Soonyoung’s feather was a bit smaller, but he was pleased to see that the color complimented Seokmin’s feather color well.

 

“I’ll see you around.”

 

The archangel waved at the gardener with his beautiful fingers, and Soonyoung could do nothing but bow in response. 

 

Soonyoung held the feather tightly in his hands and whispered, “I’ll be anticipating the next time you visit.”

 

By then, the archangel was gone, but Soonyoung’s feelings for him remained. He lifted the feather and stroked it delicately. Who knew that one day, he would be able to hold onto one of Seokmin’s feathers? Such a precious treasure, Soonyoung was sure to take care of it. He would give it even more love that he gave the flowers. 

 

Soonyoung couldn’t bring himself to attach the feather to his wing, and opted to carry it with him wherever he went. When he finished watering the flowers, he walked to a nearby lake as routine. Since watering plants was his only duty, he had a lot of free time and often went to the lake after finishing his task. It was relaxing to sleep under the tree, where there was usually a nice breeze, so he usually took a short nap. Like any other day, that’s what he decided to do.

 

When he reached the shade provided by the large tree, he laid down on the grass. It was slightly damp, but not uncomfortably. He shifted to his side and brought his hands in front of him, still holding onto the beautiful white feather that the archangel gave him.

 

“I’ve gotten one step closer to you. Can I hope that maybe one day we can be close enough to call each other friends? Or that maybe one day we can be more?”

 

The angel’s face flushed immediately and he covered his face from embarrassment. There were no other angels around, but he couldn’t expose his face to the world at the moment. When he calmed down, he spoke out loud again.

 

“Of course not, who am I kidding? You’re the great leader of the heavens. You’re admired by all angels. You’re so beautiful and bright that your presence alone can make the flowers grow. I’m just a gardener. A lowly gardener. The flowers don’t need me like the angels need you. Even though we both live in the heavens, we don’t really live in the same world. There’s no way we could ever be closer than we are now.”

 

Soonyoung sighed. He turned to lie on his back and spanned his arms out. The wind tickled his face, but was starting to lull him into sleep. He drifted from consciousness, his last thoughts being about how he didn’t regret developing feelings for such an angel.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

What woke him up was a sudden chilly breeze that swept across his skin. When he opened his eyes, the skies were slightly darker than when he remembered, and the air cooler. He wondered if he should head to his dorm. Standing up and stretching his arms up in the air, he let out a yawn. Something seemed off. There was a feeling that was nagging him. A feeling of forgetfulness.Was there something that slipped his mind?

 

He ignored the feeling. He couldn’t remember what it was anyways, so he figured the thought would come to him when it was more necessary. He lazily opened his wings and flapped them to lift himself up in the air. He flew near the palace, but took a turn just before reaching it to head to his dorm. Upon laying his eyes on the palace, however, the angel stopped his motion of flight. Whatever he had forgotten before was related to the palace… but what was it?

 

_ The archangel’s feather! _

 

Soonyoung felt a looming feeling of dread when he remembered that he was given a precious feather from the archangel. But, did he attach it to his wing? He landed on the ground below to take a peak. When he found that the feather wasn’t there, he looked around his clothes to see if maybe it had stuck onto it. It hadn’t. 

 

Panic filled his chest, as he rapidly flew to the spot he rested at earlier. He stumbled with his landing, but managed to stay on his feet. He briskly walked along the perimeter of the lake, inspected the branches of the tree, and flew over the lake to see if he could spot the feather, but all was for naught. There was no sign of it anywhere. 

 

_ It must have been carried away by the wind somewhere. _

 

Soonyoung decided to expand the area of his search. He wouldn’t quit searching until he found it. It was something the archangel gave to him, after all. If he missed his duties for a day, it would be worth it if he found the feather. He wouldn’t have been able to face the leader without it, anyways. The gardener tried to pick up his pace. If it got too dark, it would limit his field of vision, so he had to cover as much ground as he could before then. The skies were already quite dark, and he had yet to explore much area. But there was no way he would give up. 

 

The lights got dimmer by the second, but Soonyoung trudged on. He looked in every corner and crevice, searching and searching past when lights were gone. He produced a small light mote to be able to see throughout the night. He didn’t notice the time pass, as he only had one goal in mind. Only when the skies started to brighten up did he realize how much time he took to search, but with no avail. He felt his lips tremble from disappointment, but he couldn’t stop yet.

 

“Kwon Soonyoung, are you there?”

 

He heard the message coming from his wing. A message being transferred by the power of feather exchange. It was from his direct boss.

 

“Yes, sir. I’m sorry, but I don’t think I’ll be able to do my duties today.”

 

His boss cleared his throat.

 

“I’m not calling about that. Actually… it seems you’ve been summoned to the palace.”

 

Soonyoun’s heart dropped at the sentence. That meant that he would likely see Seokmin before he had a chance to find the feather.

 

“The palace? Why?”

 

“I don’t know. But… it seems it’s a matter of urgency.”

 

“Alright. I’ll be there soon.”

 

His search for Seokmin’s feather would have to be postponed by the unexpected beckoning, but he had no intention to give up. For now, he had to fly to the palace.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Soonyoung glanced around as he was led by a guard through the palace. He had always seen the palace from the outside, but this was only the second time he had been inside. The first time was when he was assigned his duty as an angel. Both times, he felt nervous from being inside such an important place. This time, he didn’t know why he was here. The unknown reasons only added to his anxiety, and he began to unconsciously pluck his feathers. 

 

The guard led Soonyoung to a room with double doors, one of which he opened. He didn’t say a word, but Soonyoung knew he was supposed to enter. When he did, he was met with a large audience of angels. He recognized the individual faces of the important angels. He was in the presence of the Council of Angels, all of the angels of high rank who collectively made important decisions. Of course, this included Seokmin. But why was he called here?

 

“Um,” the gardener spoke timidly. “I was told to come here.”

 

One of the elder angels stood up from his seat. His expression was stern.

 

“Kwon Soonyoung. Before we make our final decision, I have to ask you a question.”

 

“Final decision? For what?”

 

The elder ignored his question.

 

“Kwon Soonyoung, do you recognize this feather?”

 

He held out a beautiful white feather. The very one Soonyoung had been searching for. However, there was something extremely wrong with it. It was half stained in a splattering of blood.

 

Soonyoung took a quick glance at Seokmin, who only stared back with an expression of worry, fear, and disbelief. He then looked back at the council elder. 

 

“It is the feather that I was given during a feather exchange with Archangel Seokmin.”

 

“So you acknowledge that this feather is yours?”

 

Soonyoung swallowed. He knew that he couldn’t lie, but he had a feeling that the truth would harm him. It was clear that the council already knew the answer.

 

“Yes, sir.”

 

“Then we, the Council of Angels, will strip you of your angel status. You are hereby banned from the heavens.”

 

Two guards started to approach the gardener, but he avoided their grasp in panic.

 

“But why? What happened that I should be banished? I didn’t do anything!”

 

The guards managed to grab onto each of the angel’s arms, but he continued to struggle. The elder spoke once again.

 

“All the evidence points to you, and you just now admitted that this piece of evidence belongs to you.”

 

“I don’t even know what happened! Please…”

 

“You, Kwon Soonyoung, gardener of the palace, are guilty of the murder of an angel.”

 

Soonyoung felt his heart drop. He lost the strength to struggle in the grasp of the guards.

 

“Murder? Of… an angel? Me? No, that’s… that’s wrong!”

 

Seokmin slowly approached the gardener with pitiful eyes.

 

“Archangel Seokmin? Won’t you believe me? It wasn’t me! I didn’t do it!”

 

“I’m sorry Soonyoung. All of the evidence points to you.”   
  
“What other evidence is there?”

 

“You were the only angel who didn’t check in your dorm last night, other than the angel who is no longer in this world.”   
  
“But that’s…”

 

Soonyoung felt his knees grow weak.

 

_ Because I was careless and lost the precious feather you gave to me. _

 

Seokmin let a tear drop as he motioned for the guards to turn the gardener around.

 

“Archangel Seokmin?”

 

“I’m sorry Soonyoung. As the archangel, I will now remove your angel status.”

  
Soonyoung felt a hand at the base of his wings, holding the two of them jointly. Another hand was placed on his back. He heard the archangel whisper a spell. He felt a warm, tingling sensation at the connection between his back and his wings. The heat started to increase in intensity, and before he knew it, it became a burning sensation. Soonyoung started screaming, and tears streamed down his face. He couldn’t form words. He could only scream from the painful burn as the archangel was tearing his wings from his back. He squirmed in pain, trying to escape from the torture, but the guards held him tightly. He was trapped and helpless as the archangel was taking away the wings that were such a big part of him. He could only cry out while the Council of Angels watched apathetically. No one would help him. In their eyes, he was a murderer. In his eyes, they were murderers as well, because on that day, they had killed the angel Kwon Soonyoung.


	2. Minghao

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been so long since I've updated this one... I'm so sorry... this is what happens when I prioritize unpublished works DX  
> I hope you enjoy, and hopefully I won't take as long to update (but I'll be out of town so... maybe not...)

_ Betrayal _

 

That was the word that came to Soonyoung’s mind when he woke up. He opened his eyes when a familiar breeze swept across his skin, but was faced with an unfamiliar blue sky. The heavens had pearl white skies, with a tinge of pink hues. This sky was stark blue, with small patches of white. Everything about the sky seemed harsh, including the glaring light that hurt his eyes.

 

_ So this is the human world. _

 

He sighed and tried to sit, up but immediately winced from the sharp pain in his back. His hand found its way to where the pain was. Where his wings should have been. Where they used to be.

 

_ They’re really gone. My wings… they’re gone. _

 

He ran his hand down his back that void of wings, carefully caressing the wounds. It felt as though they were still open, but when he brought his hand in front of him, there was no blood. Did the Council of Angels decide to hastily cast a healing spell before shoving his body into the human world? Or perhaps it was the archangel who decided to have mercy on him? 

 

Soonyoung shook his head at the thought. It didn’t matter who did it. They all betrayed him. All of them. Seokmin was no exception. 

 

He took a look around and realized that he was in a field of grass. Beyond the field were what looked like buildings. Only they were horribly grey and dirty-looking. They were uncharacteristic, being rectangular in shape, and uneven, many of them being different sizes and colors. It seems like every building had its own architect. But why? 

 

From the little he observed already, the human world was an unorganized mess. Even the air seemed dirty. The grass he was sitting on wasn’t as vividly green as the grass in the heavens. It was stiff and almost brittle, not bouncy at all. It wasn’t soft enough that he would be comfortable enough to sleep on it. It was almost prickly like needles. So far, it seemed that everything about the human world was less beautiful than the heavens.

 

There was a harsh breeze, and Soonyoung had to cover his face to prevent flying dust and dirt from getting into his eyes. The wind on the grass was extremely noisy, probably a result of the plant’s brittleness. He couldn’t hear the creature approaching from behind him, and was startled when it jumped onto Soonyoung’s back. The sudden contact brushed against the spots of this freshly torn wings, and the fallen angel screamed in pain. He curled on his side in defense, but the creature bounced on him again and again. Tears filled his eyes as he wished for the creature to go away. Was this also a part of his punishment?

 

“Jin! No, stop it!”

 

After the boy’s stern call, the creature paused, then stepped off of Soonyoung. Now that the wind was gone, he could hear the steps of someone coming toward him, but he stayed curled. Only when he was sure the creature would no longer attack him, he sat up and opened his eyes. 

 

There was a beautiful and gentle-looking boy, kneeling at Soonyoung’s side. His eyes were soft and light brown, which matched his hair.  His brows were knit in concern. He pulled out a cloth from his jacket pocket and reached for Soonyoung’s face.

 

“Are you okay? You’re crying.”

 

The angel closed his eyes and allowed the boy to wipe his tears. He then looked at his attacker, which was being a large, white dog with pointed ears. Besides it’s size, it looked just like the dogs Soonyoung was used to in the heavens.

 

“Why is that dog so big?”

 

The boy turned to the dog, then back at Soonyoung. 

 

“Jin? She’s a pretty normal size for her breed. Did she hurt you? Were you scared?”

 

Soonyoung placed a hand on his shoulder defensively.

 

“No, it wasn’t her fault it hurts.”

 

When he thought about his lost wings, he felt his heart turn heavy again. That’s right, it wasn’t the dog’s fault. It was the Council of Angels who decided to take his wings away. It was the Council of Angels who didn’t listen to his desperate pleas. It was the Council who unfairly took away his status as an angel.

 

That’s right. He was no longer an angel.

 

“Oh, no! You’re bleeding!”

 

“Huh?”

 

The boy turned him around to inspect his back

 

“She  _ did _ hurt you, I’m so sorry! Oh god, it looks really bad… Here, come with me, I need to get you treated. My place is pretty close, so I can get you cleaned up there.”

 

The boy grabbed Soonyoung’s hand and dragged away, and the white dog, Jin, followed closely behind.

 

“I’m really  _ really  _ sorry about what happened... Jin isn’t usually like this. She’s actually afraid of strangers, so I was really surprised when she ran up to you, but I didn’t think she would be so violent... She was just really excited, it wasn’t like she meant to be violent… Please forgive her. She’s a good dog. I promise.”

 

“I told you, it wasn’t her fault.”

 

The boy turned back for a brief moment to show a relieved smile. “Thank you for not hating her.”

 

“Like I said-”

 

“I know,” the boy said as he continued to guide Soonyoung. “But still.”

 

They reached a small, worn-down building. Most of the buildings in the human world were worn down, but this one seemed especially worn. The walls were a dull cream color, with dirty patches of grey. There were no spots in which the paint wasn’t peeling off, and Soonyoung wondered if this place was even inhabitable. 

 

The boy opened the door, and Jin bolted inside. He smiled as she did, then looked at Soonyoung.

 

“Sorry it’s a little shabby. But don’t worry, it’s clean.”

 

He gestured for Soonyoung to go inside, and then followed him in. He turned on the lights, but it didn’t brighten the room much. It was still a bit dark, so Soonyoung decided to create a light mote to increase the visibility. When the light mote didn’t appear, he was reminded once again of his situation. He hadn’t just lost his wings. He lost everything that made him an angel. Of course he wouldn’t be able to create a light mote. This was going to take time to get used to.

 

“You can just sit over there on the couch. Let me bring the first-aid kit… Oh, I just realized I don’t know your name? I guess I should introduce myself first. I’m Minghao. Xu Minghao.”

 

He extended his right hand, and Soonyoung reluctantly took it. He didn’t look Minghao in the eyes when he said his name.

 

“Kwon Soonyoung.”

 

“Nice to meet you, Soonyoung. Wait here. I’ll be right back.”

 

The fallen angel watched Minghao walk away and turn the corner of a hallway. He heard the shifting of objects, and a few slams before he saw Minghao once again, but with a small box in his hands. The boy sat on the couch, adjacent to Soonyoung, staring at him for a few seconds before timidly pointing at his shirt.

 

“Um… if I want to treat you, you’ll have to take off your shirt...” 

 

“Oh… right…”

 

He had unconsciously thought that humans had a similar treatment process as angels did, but then he realized that they didn’t have magic. Suddenly, he became very conscious of the thought of Minghao treating him, but he was already there. The boy was ready to do his thing. There was no turning back.

 

Soonyoung turned his body away, partially from self-consciousness, and partially for Minghao to treat him. He took off his shirt and heard a soft gasp from behind him when he did. He could only imagine how ugly his wounds were. However, Minghao didn’t mention anything about it.

 

“This might hurt.”

 

It did hurt. It hurt so much that Soonyoung wondered if he had grown his wings back and the boy was ripping them off again. He could feel a cool pad being pressed against his skin, but the contact burned. He winced and tried to hold in his yelps, but a few escaped. He felt his muscles tensing, and his hands clamped onto his discarded shirt. He gritted his teeth, waiting for the pain to subside.

 

Soon after, he felt a dry cloth being pressed onto the wounds, and then the boy started wrapping Soonyoung’s torso with a thin ribbon of cloth. It seemed the painful part of the treatment was over, and he relaxed as the boy continued to wrap the cloth around his body.

 

“I’m sorry for hurting you.”

 

“It was inevitable though, right? Why do you keep apologizing?”

 

“Because you’re hurt. It hurts my heart to see you like this.”

 

Minghao was done wrapping Soonyoung’s chest, so Soonyoung put his shirt back on and faced him.

 

“Why would it hurt? You don’t know me. There’s no reason for you to feel this way.”

 

Minghao sighed softly.

 

“Because you don’t deserve this pain.”

 

The words that came out of Minghao’s mouth must have contained magic, because Soonyoung immediately burst into tears. He chest felt heavy, as he was sobbing uncontrollably. He covered his face, not wanting Minghao to see such a disgraceful face, but Minghao pulled Soonyoung’s head to his chest and wrapped it in a warm embrace. Somehow, this made Soonyoung cry harder. Soonyoung held still until his tears ran out and he started to hiccup.

 

Minghao let him go and gently patted his head.

 

“Are you feeling better?”

 

Strangely, he did. Even though nothing had changed, he felt a bit better than before. His hiccupping made it hard to speak, so he nodded his head. Minghao chuckled softly as Soonyoung kept hiccupping.

 

“Let me get you a glass of water.”

 

As Minghao left, Soonyoung breathed deeply, trying to get his hiccups under control. He closed his eyes and took even deeper breaths, and just when he thought they were gone, another hiccup escaped. 

 

He sighed, deciding that perhaps it was best to let them fade naturally. As he opened his eyes, he saw that Jin was right in front of him, wagging her tail expectantly. Soonyoung gasped at her sudden appearance and leaned back into the couch in surprise. He winced slightly when it caused his forgotten pain in his back to resurface.

 

“Jin!”

 

Minghao had come back with a glass of water in his hand, and an expression of shock. He rushed over to Soonyoung’s side.

 

“Are you okay? Did she bother you again?”

 

“No, I was just surprised. That’s all.”

 

After putting the glass down in front of Soonyoung, Minghao tapped on his lap to beckon the large dog over to him. Soonyoung took a sip of water and realized that the hiccups were gone. He put the glass down to watch Minghao lovingly pet Jin. Soonyoung thought that the two had entered their own world, but Minghao spoke suddenly, indicating that he remembered that Soonyoung was still there.

 

“Jin, she… she’s a really good dog.”

 

“Oh, yeah, I think you mentioned earlier.”

 

“She had some really bad owners before. Really bad. She used to get beat up all the time.”

 

Soonyoung didn’t know what to say, so he stayed silent. Minghao continued.

 

“She was owned by someone who ran illegal dog fights underground. You know, where they make the dogs fight, practically to the death. It’s awful.”

 

Tears started welling in Minghao’s eyes. He sniffled once. “But Jin here, she never fought. They hit her over and over, trying to aggravate her, but she just wouldn’t fight. Can you believe it? They were abusing her for being the good dog that she is.”

 

Minghao took a breath before wiping the tears from his eyes. “And so, when she was rescued, she was scared to death by anyone who approached her. Me included. It took months for me to pet her without her cowering to the floor. It’s so heartbreaking, that she had to go through something like that. And for no good reason. All of us at the rescue worked so hard to gain her trust, and when we thought we succeeded, it turns out that she only trusts us. She won’t let anyone else approach her, which is why we can’t put her up for adoption.”

 

Soonyoung was a bit confused. 

 

“Rescue?”

 

“Oh, sorry, I’m a part of a dog rescue group. We rescue dogs like Jin who are in bad homes, and try to adopt them out to good people.”

 

“Oh…” He wasn’t sure if he understood completely, but brushed away his confusion to ask a more puzzling question. “But you said she’s afraid of other people. Why isn’t she afraid of me?”

 

“That’s what I was wondering,” Minghao sighed. “Maybe… she feels that you've experienced the same thing she has?”

 

Minghao was looking at Soonyoung directly in the eyes, as if staring at them would give him the answer he was looking for. It almost seemed as if Minghao knew about Soonyoung, but that was impossible… Right?

 

“What do you mean by that?”

 

“Your back,” Minghao put a hand on his own shoulder to explain. “Maybe she realizes what you've been through.”

 

“But how do you know what I've been through?”

 

“I don't… but would you be willing to share your story?”

 

_ So he doesn’t know. Of course he doesn’t. There’s no way _

 

“Sorry, but I don't think I can.”

 

“Oh, I’m so sorry, that was really rude of me, wasn’t it? We barely even know each other and I’m asking for something so personal… Sorry…”

 

“You keep apologizing. Not everything is worth apologizing for… Anyways, it’s not really that I can’t tell you, it’s more like you wouldn’t understand. Or you wouldn’t believe me.”

 

“I believe you.”

 

Soonyoung could see the sincerity in the boy’s eyes. But why? Like Minghao said, they barely knew each other. There was no reason for Minghao to trust him.

 

“Why would you believe anything I say?”

 

“Everyone deserves to be accepted without being judged.”

 

“But you don’t know me well.”

 

“But you haven’t given me a reason to distrust you.”

 

“Minghao, if you trust people blindly, you’re going to be hurt one day. Betrayal… it lives in more people than you would think.”

 

_ If only I knew that before, maybe I wouldn’t be hurting so much. _

 

“But wouldn’t it also hurt when people are guarded around you for no reason?”

 

“There is a reason. To protect yourself. You never really know who’s on your side, so you can only trust yourself.”

 

Sadness glazed over Minghao’s eyes. The boy reached out and held Soonyoung’s hand. He smiled, but his expression was pained.

 

“You… You’ve been through a lot, haven’t you?”

 

Soonyoung could only clench his jaw to prevent his emotions from getting out of control. He looked away, because looking at Minghao was going to make him crumble.

 

“If you want to tell me, I’ll be willing to listen. I’ll believe you, no matter what you say.”

 

“You won’t.”

 

“I will. I promise I will.”

 

“Even if I told you I’m something that shouldn’t exist?”

 

“I’ll believe every word.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this turned out a little different than I expected (but my fics always tend to stray from my original intentions, so this is nothing new)  
> I hope you liked it!! ^-^
> 
> Also HAPPYHOSHIDAY!!!


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